


My Strength

by LaLionne (otayuriistheliteralbest)



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alforan - Freeform, Light Angst, M/M, Mid-War, Self-Sacrifice, Strength, Tarot, Tough Decisions
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-30
Updated: 2019-05-30
Packaged: 2020-03-29 19:43:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,170
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19026637
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/otayuriistheliteralbest/pseuds/LaLionne
Summary: Alfor slammed his hands down on the console, frustration etched in every line in his body. He wanted to scream, to let it all out, but he was the King of Altea, its leader, and the closest person to Zarkon. He had been his closest ally and friend until the quintessence field warped his mind, and Zarkon would stop at nothing to get what he wanted. And poor Honerva…she was just another casualty in Zarkon’s vain grasp at power.Alfor must make decisions that would change the course of history for the universe.





	My Strength

**Author's Note:**

> This is my piece for the Greater Secrets zine based on the Strength tarot card. I hope you enjoy!

Alfor slammed his hands down on the console, frustration etched in every line in his body. He wanted to scream, to let it all out, but he was the King of Altea, its leader, and the closest person to Zarkon. He had been his closest ally and friend until the quintessence field warped his mind, and Zarkon would stop at nothing, _nothing_ , to get what he wanted. And poor Honerva…she was just another casualty in Zarkon’s vain grasp at power.

Alfor curled inward, afraid that he would lose control of his anger and break the Castleship’s console.

A hand reached out and tentatively stroked Alfor’s arm. He jerked back, ready to snap at whoever interrupted his thoughts… only to find Coran, sweet, gentle Coran standing next to him as always, his pillar of strength.

“Oh, Coran,” Alfor gasped. His voice was rough, like he had been screaming, but it had all been in his head. “My love, what do I do? What _can_ I do?”

Coran silently pulled Alfor into his arms and Alfor buried his face in Coran’s shoulder, letting go of the well of emotion that had been building up in his chest. He sobbed, all his raw energy pouring out in a torrent of tears.

“Shh, Alfor,” Coran murmured in his ear. “You’re all right, I have you. There’s no one else here but us.”

Alfor choked on a wet laugh.

“Sent them all away, have you?” he asked.

“I could tell that something was wrong,” Coran replied, keeping his voice steady. “Better to give you the space you need and keep your image with our allies.”

Alfor pulled back from Coran’s loving embrace. He cupped his lover’s face in one hand, tracing the lines of his bright orange moustache with his thumb.

“My love, you know just what I need. How do you do that?” he asked.

Coran hummed, tilting his head to one side to nuzzle his cheek against Alfor’s hand.

“I would do anything for you, Alfor,” Coran said.

Alfor’s breath hitched in his throat. He leaned down to capture Coran’s lips with his in a gentle kiss. Coran melted into him, gripping Alfor’s hips to steady himself. Alfor broke the kiss and rested his forehead against Coran’s, eyes closed in thought.

“Much as I’ve enjoyed this much-needed distraction, I need to get back to work,” Alfor said, staring down into Coran’s half-lidded eyes. “We need to cut off Zarkon’s rise to power before he becomes too powerful to be displaced.”

Coran rubbed Alfor’s lower back and pulled away from his to walk over to the controls for the holo display. He pulled up the display of the current battlefield as their side knew it. Coran manipulated the controls, zooming in on their quadrant.

“Most of Zarkon’s forces are centered here,” Coran said, pointing at the glowing image in the air between them. “He is enslaving the inhabitants of the moons and planets he conquers--”

“What are you doing, dearest?” Alfor asked.

“I thought that was obvious. I’m helping you, sire,” Coran said simply. “You don’t need to shoulder the fate of the galaxy all on your own.”

Alfor’s heart clenched, and he walked over to the holo display of the war zone.

“Right.” He cleared his throat. “Zarkon is forcing these planets under his control by breaking their spirit, and in doing so, he takes away their hope for the future. All they can see is the present. We need to give back hope to these planets’ populations if we want to have any chance of overthrowing him.”

Coran stroked his moustache in thought. “We have our Altean scouts who can move in on the planets and disperse weapons to the locals to fight back.”

“We don’t have enough of our scouts remaining to help every planet that Zarkon has taken over,” Alfor said. “At best, we could help two, maybe three of them. It is risky, I don’t want to chance too many of our scouts to this mission.”

Coran pointed at three planets, lighting them up on the holo chart. “What if we deploy our forces to Braxus, Trollum, and Xenata? Send them to multiple locations on the planets, disperse the weapons, and help train the locals in the weaponry in secret as quickly as they can.”

“If we do that, we would need to give them enough time to train but not enough time that Zarkon’s forces would catch on to the plan. The scouts would not be able to send communication back to us off-planet. We would need to set a time for the rebellion, and they could overthrow Zarkon’s troops on the ground.” Alfor leaned forward and spread the battlefield schematic wide with both hands to expand the view of the three planets.

“It just might work,” Alfor muttered to himself. He glanced up at Coran, a wry smile on his face. The lights from the holo played over Coran’s hair, rippling in blues and reds that created a patchwork of color.

“Thank you, dearest,” Alfor said. “I was so mired in my own thoughts that I couldn’t focus on the bigger picture.”

Coran released the controls to the holo, shutting off the display.

“I’m always here for you, Alfor,” Coran said. “You should know that by now.”

“I do know that. I just forget sometimes,” Alfor replied. He reached out to Coran and spun him around once, tugging him into his arms. “Thank you, Coran, my gorgeous man.”

Coran blushed and gave Alfor a peck on the cheek. Alfor let him go, and Coran stretched his arms up high in the air, reaching from one side to the other to relieve the tension in his back. “Well, anyway, I think it’s time for me to pop off to bed. Will you be all right, Alfor?”

“Of course. I’ll join you, I just need to finish up here. Be there in ten dobashes,” Alfor replied.

Alfor waved Coran off to their rooms, a small smile on his face that dropped the moment Coran was out of sight. He opened a side door, going down the narrow corridor quickly. He opened the door at the other end of the hall and stepped out into the medical bay. Alfor pressed his hand against the central control, activating two of the pods to rise up from the floor. He had been working on these cryo-pods in secret. He didn’t want to frighten Coran or Allura with his worries for the future. Alfor walked over to one of the pods, pressing his hand against the glass. His face crumpled once more, silent tears streaming down his face.

“My dearest Coran, I would do anything to protect you and Allura. You are the most precious people to me, all that I have left in this galaxy.”

His hushed voice echoed in the cavernous room, but no one was around to hear him.

“Even if it means losing you in my lifetime, I must protect you both. For the future of the galaxy.”

  



End file.
